Homemade candles
by TitaniaSarys
Summary: Lux is finally back and he's up to something. Ezra gets suspicious and tries to find out why the Senator is acting so strangely. When he consfronts him, he discovers it's about Ahsoka and a certain surprise.


Young Ezra Bridger had actually nothing to do that afternoon. Since the morning, he had been working on the Ghost with Hera, then helped one of the rebels move some stuff into a hangar and now he was stuck in this big cruiser because the Phoenix Crew was on alert and ready to depart as soon as they got the signal from higher above.

Which usually meant Ahsoka.

Ezra was always eager to spend some time with the older Togruta. She didn't talk much about the past, like how were things during the war but she always answered his questions with a smile, whether they were about Jedi stuff, rebel stuff or life in general (those were pretty rare though). He liked Ahsoka and admired her, but lately she had been quite busy.

But there was another someone who'd like to spend some time with the former Padawan as well and Ezra spotted that very person in the crowd of the hanger. That person crossed the whole area, then looked as if to see if no one was watching and finally made their way to the corridor which led somewhere Ezra knew perfectly well: the Scrap room, where all the remnants of droids, either fow or friend, ended. It wasn't the first time that person was snooping around that room and Ezra got suspicious especially since he didn't trust that guy.

He looked around to see if any crewmember of the Ghost was watching him. Kanan was nearby but his back was turned, he was repairing something and wasn't paying any attention to the boy who signed in relief. Now was his chance. Hera hadn't given him any chore to do for an hour now, she was surely about to change that so it was now or never. Quietly standing up, he followed the suspicious person.

He reached the Scrap room and pressed the button. As soon as the doors opened automatically, the suspicious person jumped in fright and something fell from their hands.

"Gotcha!" said Ezra as he made his way into the room, then waited for the doors to close before speaking again. "So… what have you been snooping around in here for?"

The man stood up and straitened his clothes. Lux Bonteri didn't seem so impressive from up close. Sure, he had the usual elegance and wisdom of any senator, but Ezra didn't trust him one bit, no matter what Ahsoka said. The fact that the Togruta had been so friendly with the newly arrived senator made Ezra worry, he didn't want him to hurt her. Sure, he had trusted Rex almost right away, but the clone had proved to be a trusty captain, Ezra had had proof he could be trusted. But with this senator? Nothing.

Just because he was someone supposed friend from Ahsoka's past didn't mean the boy should trust him. Bonteri actually seemed nervous, Ezra could sense his uneasiness in the Force. Also the way he was holding his hands and avoiding his gaze sold him out. The senator was probably something around thirty years old but Ezra could see that the war did some damage on him. Not physically but his body language revealed it all. Not as much as Ahsoka's tough, even if the Togruta was very good at hiding it. Actually, the only time he realized how much she had been through was the time when they brought Bonteri to the rebel base, a week ago. Ahsoka had hugged Bonteri the minute he walked into the base, even more warmly than she had hugged Rex and from what Ezra had heard, she knew Rex for a longer time.

She had seemed so relieved when she saw Bonteri, truly she was moved. After the senator's arrival, she took a walk with him around the base, juts the two of them, but Ezra had felt protective. He knew Ahsoka could defend herself and beat Lux in a hundred different ways before anyone even noticed, but he still followed them outside.

She had never opened like that to anyone else. Not even to Rex, she never talked with him about the past but that was the first thing she mentioned back with Lux. He didn't hear exactly what they were saying, being too far, but her Force signature had revealed her emotions. Ezra had never felt her so emotional, almost on the verge of tears. But it wasn't entirely sadness, it was also joy. And even a deeper feeling that eluded Ezra to his greatest frustration.

He was about to get closer when Kanan had caught him and yelled at him for spying on the Togruta who was like a hero to the Jedi. Except that Lux and Ahsoka chose that moment to do something Ezra would never have expected: they kissed. Just like that.

Completely taken aback, both Jedi went back inside, cheeks as red as Sabine's brightest paintings. Ezra didn't know what happened afterwards since they didn't see the Togruta for the whole evening. But when the boy wanted to look for her, afraid the senator might have done something inappropriate, Kanan stopped him, telling him she was probably fine and that they shouldn't interrupt them. When Ezra asked interrupt what Kanan only grumbled something like "you'll get it when you grow up" and his face became even redder.

And now, the senator was up to something and Ezra was sure he caught him doing something he should be doing. But what, he didn't know. But as he was about to interrogate Bonteri, Kanan entered the room.

"Here you are! I was lookin…"

He stopped dead when he saw Lux.

"Senator Bonteri! What are you doing here?"

But when he saw Ezra's sheepish smile and the way he crossed his arms on his chest, he got angry.

"You've been spying on the senator again, haven't you?"

Lux seemed surprised.

"Again?"

"That's not true! Well not entirely at least!" Ezra tried to defend himself.

But Kanan was already trying to grab him, probably to make him apologize to the senator and then drag him back to the Ghost to do whatever Hera wanted him to do.

"I can't believe you've been spying on the senator! Why can't you trust he's on our side?"

"We found him on an Empire shuttle only a week ago! What's proving you he's not a spy, hmm? He could be just pretending to be with us in order to betray us later!"

"You don't trust him? Fine, but what about Ahsoka? Don't you trust her judgment? Wait until she hears about this!" Kanan yelled as he was trying to catch Ezra who was hiding behind a pile of droid heads.

"No!" said Lux and Ezra at the same time, which made them look at each other in surprise.

"Ahsoka might not kick my butt if she finds out but Hera definitely will. What's your excuse?" asked Ezra.

The senator suddenly seemed really nervous and passed his hand through his hair.

"Well… I was just… it was supposed to be a surprise…"

He then grabbed something from the floor, probably what he was holding the moment Ezra entered. It looked like a light bulb but it could also be the eye of an ancient droid for all Ezra knew. Bonteri looked at it carefully.

"I wanted to surprise Ahsoka. She's been working so much lately she barely has time for herself. I know her and I know she means well, that she's always been hardworking and all but she needs to take a break from time to time. And it's been so long since we saw each other, I just wanted to surprise her with a pleasant evening."

"With that?" Ezra couldn't help but ask.

He just couldn't picture how in the universe Ahsoka would be surprised by this light bulb. She was probably responsible for most of the droids scraps in this room, she's seen more kinds of clankers than any of the rebels. But the senator wasn't willing to share his full plan because he put the light bulb back on a pile and made his way out of the room.

"Well, it doesn't matter; I wouldn't be able to achieve such a thing anyway." He seemed sad when he said that last part. Bringing his arms together, he opened the doors. "I would appreciate if you would keep this encounter to yourself, Ahsoka has enough to deal with right now."

"Sure…" was all Kanan could say before the senator left, his head low like he'd just been defeated.

"You happy?" yelled the Jedi when Bonteri was out of earshot. "Now let's get back to the Ghost and stop fooling around…"

"I got to talk to him."

"What?"

"It… it just doesn't feel right, leaving him like that. He seemed so… sad, like that surprise was really important to him. I want to help him. And I'm kind of curious to know what plan he had in mind. Plus, if it helps Ahsoka and lightens her mood, that's a good thing, right?"

Kanan put his hands on the boy's shoulders, smiling.

"So you trust him now?"

"It's just like you said: if Ahsoka trusts him, then so should I. After all, she knows him better than I do. Besides, he doesn't seem like the kind to hurt her."

"Then go. Make this right."

Ezra nodded and ran out of the room, but only once he took the light bulb. He found Bonteri sitting in the hanger on a crate, farther from the others and kept staring at his outstretched hands like there was something on them. He heard the boy come closer but didn't look at him. Instead, he seemed to confess.

"The last time I saw Ahsoka, it was on Alderan. I told her I just got appointed senator by the king and that I would join the Republic. Then everything went haywire and I found myself hiding from the empire. I didn't know who to turn to so I stayed low for a long time. I heard she had left the Order and that truly surprised me, then I heard what happened to the Republic, the Clones, the Jedi… I couldn't do a thing to help her. I tried to make it right, I tried to find her. But she kept on hiding just like me but she was a Jedi, she was better at it than anybody. If she didn't want to be found, no one would be able to find her."

He stopped but his gaze didn't falter from his hands and Ezra sat next to him. The senator didn't budge one bit.

"When I realized I couldn't find her, I stopped looking. I already got her into some deep trouble back in the days because of my stupidity and I didn't want to do it again, especially not in such dark times. But then I heard rebels were gathering, I helped as many as I could, but I'm neither a fighter, a pilot or a leader. I couldn't do much and kept hiding. The empire got too close on my trail at times which only made me act with even more caution. But still, I couldn't find her. I know the universe is big and I was telling myself she didn't come to see be because she was busy. Of course she was. She's been helping you guys and others before you from the start. I can only guess how much she's been trough since I last saw her…"

To make him stop staring at his hands, Ezra put the light bulb in them.

"Well, I'm not an expert on women, especially Togruta Jedi so badass women. But I know one thing."

Lux finally looked him in the eye.

"Is that everyone loves surprises."

A shy smile appeared on Bonteri's lips and Ezra saw Kanan near the Ghost, finishing talking to Hera who simply nodded and got back to work. Then Kanan gave him the thumbs up and Ezra's attention came back to the senator.

"So, what's the plan?"

* * *

Ahsoka had had a rough day. By the end of it, the Phoenix crew didn't go anywhere since there was no imminent attack. So everyone was just chilling in the ship and getting it ready to come back to base. Once they arrived safely home, pretty much everyone left the ship to rest elsewhere and Ahsoka waved a lot of people goodbye on her way to the hanger. She wasn't planning on sleeping on the ship that night but she had to do a last sweep of the perimeter. Well, it wasn't an obligation actually, she was doing it out of habit and because she wanted to make sure everything was in order. They couldn't risk having a malfunction just because someone forgot to check things out.

She was really surprised to see the Ghost crew still in the hanger, they were actually the last ones there. It sometimes happened that Hera or Kanan stayed behind to do some repairs and other stuff, Ezra for instance was always the first out usually. She was even more surprised when she saw Lux talking to Hera.

"Lux! What are you doing here? I thought you were already out."

Her voice hid a great amount of happiness and excitement that the Twi'lek perceived easily, but which didn't seem to be the case of Bonteri who smiled nonetheless. Hera wondered how he could not see that Ahsoka was feeling something more than friendship towards him. She could tell from every movement the Togruta made and all the natural intonations in her voice that her heart beat faster every time her gaze fell on the senator. Hera wondered if it was that obvious and Lux was just blind or if it was because she was a woman and could read another woman's mind.

"Well, I hope you don't have any plans for tonight, my dear Soka. Because I have a surprise for you," he said while taking her hand to walk around the ship and Hera smiled, quietly following them.

They arrived at the place Ezra had chosen. A table was made out of crates and a white sheet covered it. It was dressed for two. In the center, light bulbs of different shapes and sizes were all joined by the same cable and lit, casting a slight glow that resembled that of a candle. All around them were other droids shining parts but it was never enough to blind them or create too much light, making that part of the hanger cozy and somewhat mysterious.

Ahsoka gasped as she saw it and Ezra came to her. A towel was spread on his bent arm like that of a waiter and his fake moustache slightly shifted when he spoke.

"Ma'am, Sir, your table is ready. If you'd be so kind as to follow me."

He then bowed and walked to the table while Hera repressed a laugh. Kanan joined her and put his arm around her shoulder, making her smile and look happily at Lux who was leading Ahsoka to the table, helping her sit up on yet another crate and then sitting himself in front of her. Ezra then brought them a small chalkboard on which was only written one small thing.

"I am sorry to inform you than, due to a late shortage in supplies, we can only offer you one dish."

Ahsoka laughed a little and Lux played the part, ordering that one dish. Ezra bowed again and walked to the Ghost's side, against which Zeb was cooking, or at least trying not to burn anything, whether it was the food, the ship or his own hands. Sabine was sitting in a corner, at the same time looking out for him and working on what looked like an old jukebox.

"What's all this, may I ask?" Ahsoka said.

Lux's fingers ran through his hair again and he blushed while not looking at the lady in front of him. Ezra brought them a bottle of fresh water and poured it in their glasses before leaving for the open kitchen again, his moustache halfway down.

"Well… I wanted to give you a nice evening. You've been barely taking some time off for yourself lately. I'm not saying it's wrong, you're helping out a great deal and I'm proud of you… I was just hoping you could spend some time with me tonight. Like have a nice dinner as normal as possible."

The Togruta took a look around and her smile only widened. Lux's heart melted at the sight of her. He had dreamed so many times of her smile that he almost couldn't believe his eyes. He took a sip of water and put his hand on the table, getting it slightly closer to Ahsoka's empty plate.

"This is so lovely, thank you Lux."

Her hand covered his and his heart skipped a beat. After a while, their fingers intertwined and their eyes locked in a lovely embrace as the smell of Zeb's cooking became impossible to ignore. Hera and Kanan left and Sabine finished repairing the jukebox which played a slow, romantic and somewhat forgotten tune of a time no one remembered anymore. But still Ahsoka's eyes stayed on Lux's as his hand stroked hers in gentle circles.

"I've missed you, you know? Tell me that we could have an evening like this again in the future. Tell me I'm not dreaming and this is not going to end," she said.

He took her other hand.

"I promise, I'm not going anywhere. And this is just the beginning."


End file.
